“This means around 13,000 people may transition to become chronic opioid users, and, as the number of surgeries performed annually is increasing, the numbers of people continuing opioids post-discharge is likely to increase.”

The findings are consistent with similar studies conducted in North America, and Dr Lim says they indicate a need for greater recognition of the risks of post-surgery opioid use and the implementation of more robust patient support during recovery.

“There is a need to mitigate the risk of chronic opioid use following hospital discharge and to achieve this, we first need to make sure healthcare professionals are aware of this problem.

“For patients discharged on opioids there should be a clear discontinuation plan which is communicated to the patients and the health care team, and then patients should be actively followed up to reduce the risk of transitioning to chronic opioid use,” Dr Lim says.

The study also found the pattern of persistent opioid use post-discharge was not uniform across all types of surgery, with patients undergoing some form of orthopaedic intervention most at risk.

“This is not surprising since orthopaedic surgeries are often painful procedures and can require pain relief for acute post-surgery pain,” said Dr Lim.